On October 28, Russian state-controlled media outlets Tass and РИА Новости reported that snipers trained in Ukraine were allegedly arriving in Georgia to instigate provocations at mass protests. Both media sources claim to have information from a reliable source. Approximately 40 minutes earlier on the same day, the RT Telegram channel shared footage captioned:
“Individuals in military uniforms with Ukrainian and Georgian patches were spotted near the parliament building in Tbilisi; four individuals are seen among the protesters.”
RIA Novosti used the footage published by RT as evidence. The same information was circulated by antimaydan.info, which referred to the individuals in the video as snipers.
The individuals in the video are not Ukrainian snipers but rather Georgian hikers. Their tactical, hiking-style clothing is directly linked to hiking activities.
For several days now, Russian media has been spreading various manipulations, claiming that Ukrainian snipers have come to Georgia to instigate provocations. This time, footage from the protest in Tbilisi on October 28 shows several people dressed in what appears to be military clothing, with Ukrainian and Georgian flag patches on their uniforms. The video also includes audio of one man speaking Georgian on the phone.
Myth Detector identified one of the individuals in the video as Lasha Katsiashvili, a Georgian citizen who is a civics teacher at a school and has no connection to Ukrainian fighters. He says that, in addition, he is a hiker and frequently attends protests with friends dressed in hiking attire.
““My friends and I often go on hikes, and this style of clothing is related to that. Out of comfort, I always wear these clothes at protests and similar gatherings,” says Katsiashvili.
Lasha Katsiashvili also provided information about the other people in the video standing next to him. He explains that he was at the October 28 protest near the parliament with four other friends, three of whom were dressed in hiking clothing. One of them is Lasha Katsiashvili, while the backpack and patches with Ukrainian and Georgian flags seen in RT’s footage belong to Giorgi Kotolashvili.
“None of these are military uniforms; everything was bought in military-tactical stores in Tbilisi. The patches were also purchased from the store,” says Giorgi Kotolashvili.
In the video, only Giorgi Kotolashvili’s cap is visible, while the dark-haired man standing next to him is Sandro Gogoladze. All three of them are hikers and founders of the “Mtamadideblebi” hiking club. The individual heard speaking Georgian on the phone in the video is Giorgi Roinishvili.
The hikers tell us they often go hiking in similar attire and provided a photo taken in Algeti National Park as an illustration.
During various political events in Georgia, Kremlin propaganda systematically disseminates disinformation, claiming that Ukrainians are coming to Tbilisi to provoke unrest. Recently, Ukrainians have been accused of planning provocations around the elections. Myth Detector has already debunked disinformation suggesting that Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko, who came to observe the elections, brought “professional protesters” to Tbilisi.
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